Wakefield Pond Redux

 On the way out of New York City to Rhode Island for the 4th of July holiday,
we pass many blank and dismantled billboards.

Some are in use, some are empty.

I find out later that there are hundreds of illegal billboards on the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway)

and recently one of them flew apart in a storm, causing a newswomen 

(caught in the ensuing traffic jam) to look into the situation, with interesting results.

Below, a poignant message.

Mogul Media seems to be the culprit, while most of the Disney and Clear Channel billboards

are still functioning properly as corporate and right wing distractions to the harried BQE drivers.

I love the irony of a blank billboard.

It's like minimalist art has taken over the highways.

Donald Judd
UNTITLED
1969/1982 

Robert Ryman, Archive, 1980

Untitled by Ad Reinhardt, Oil on canvas, 1960 

Finally in Rhode Island, we find that a blue bus is calling us.

But we press on past its siren song, into a land of other wonders. 

We have a few days before the 4th of July Lind Family party, 

so I do a lot of cleaning.  I find hanging up clothes a particular delight.

We watch the lake in its many moods...

I'm using the above photo for my new desktop picture, but notice something different?

I cloned out the house in Photoshop so I don't have to look at it.

If only reality were so simple.

Andrew and Jennifer arrive for some good times...

?????

 This is a still from a video I took - I'm featuring it in my new animation called "Wakefield Dreams."

Andrew is playing Elvis Presley's "Little Sister."

. 

Too much fun!

One mosquito-ridden evening we spend projecting my video animations into the woods

on a big rock, and running in front of it with translucent fabric draped over us.

This imagery is also in my latest video, "Wakefield Dreams."

Speaking of art, Frank gives a lesson in how to draw Dukmous, his comic book

character from many years ago.

We think maybe Jennifer did something funny with the camera,

Because when Aaron arrives, everything gets weird.

Or maybe it's just Aaron.

Party day arrives!

4th of July!

Let's hear it for the explosions!

The ladies gather on the deck.

The usual suspects commune on the beach...

...and back up on the deck...

...and at the table...

...eating Frank's roast, Eddie's ribs and Cathy's desserts!

And more!

Down at the lake, the fun begins with Natalie, who bravely is first in the water...

...and continues with Andrew, Jennifer, Aaron and Scott.

Here is Scott pitching, and Andrew Lind playing the part of Big Wakey,

the mysterious being who haunts Wakefield Pond.

The last football is thrown, and Andrew and Jennifer must leave us...

...so Aaron can rest.

...and watch the ripples...

...and feed the fish.

We feed them not white bread which has no nutritional value,

but grated cheese, which they lust after.

By the time we leave, they have grown from a group of small, well-behaved fish

into a mob of nasty cheddar-stuffed brutes 

who nip at my legs with their sharp little teeth.

We bid a fond farewell to Wakefield Pond for the summer, but not forever...

...and re-enter highway-hell.

On the way home we see an SUV on fire.

We hope that no one got hurt, but we never find out.

Good advice here:

And finally, the usual suspects appear dramatically on the horizon, once again.